Frozen
by I Will Achieve Vikturi
Summary: Snowpeak Mountain is possibly the harshest place in Hyrule, holding its own against the brutality of Gerudo Desert. Link nearly succumbs to this extreme weather, but Midna is there to help.


The snow glowed white on the mountain this night, not a footprint to be seen.

Link shivered as he gazed out at the icy expanse people called Snowpeak Mountain. This was supposed to be their first stop. At least, that's what the sages of the Mirror Chamber had told him. Midna could not feel the cold, being in his shadow, and therefore she had no idea why he felt so cold. She had never seen snow before; she simply thought it was white grass.

She crossed her arms at his display and materialized before him, "I really don't see what's so bad about this place. Why are you shivering so much?"

He looked up at her condescending, shadowed face, "Midna, d-don't you feel th-the cold? It's f-freezing out here. Look at the s-snow, for Din's sake!"

"What the _heck_ is snow?" she fumed, her short temper getting the best of her. "We never had that back in the Twilight Realm. I swear, you Hylians..."

"Snow is f-frozen water, Midna. It's like p-partially made ice."

"And ice is...?"

"Frozen water!"

Sometimes even his temper got the best of him, not unlike now. He sometimes wished she would just go away. And given the circumstances, she really seemed to be an ice queen right about now.

"Well, whatever. In any case you still have a Mirror Shard to find, so get to it!" She pulled at his ear, making him yelp like a child.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the mountainside. "Just let go of my ear."

With a triumphant huff, she released his ear from her fingertips, and he responded immediately by covering it with his hands. He glared at her menacingly, although the innocent glint in his eyes kept him from looking all that threatening to her. In fact, he looked quite adorable with that face, and she couldn't help but snicker.

"Well, are you going now, or do I have to drag you by the ear?"

"I have legs, Midna."

With a reluctant glance at the snowy expanse, he set one foot in front of the other and moved forward. With nothing but his tunic on, he was not at all prepared for this, but there was no turning back at this point. Besides, warm coats cost a fortune. He hopped carefully across the small lake on the patches of ice, cautious of where his feet landed so he would not slip and fall into the water. He really was not about to turn into a Linkcicle. At one point, he slipped and fell over on top of himself, just barely landing on the other side. His right foot was completely submerged in the freezing water, and he was quick to yank it back out. His boot was completely soaked through and his foot was practically frozen. He stood up despite this and continued.

He had been offered many times along the way to be transformed into his lupine form, but each time he refused, not wanting to endure the pain again. Ever since that first horrific incident, he'd basically been traumatized, and even though it got less painful each time, the transformation back into his human form grew in intensity until he eventually passed out purely from the torture. He remembered coming to in Lanayru's spring, twitching and convulsing from the agony that remained. It was one of the few times when Midna had actually cared for him. She had taken the liberty of throwing overtop him the blanket he kept with him at all times so he would stay warm. And somehow, he found comfort in her gaze and had forgotten her harsh attitude.

It was hard to find that same caring glint, though, as she asked yet again. He felt his mind starting to shut down once he began to drift into another world and he slowed down his pace. Red fingertips he brought up to his face, blowing hot air into them in an attempt to keep warm to no avail. He sneezed madly and repetitively into his cupped hands and groaned nearly inaudibly. Midna took no notice to this.

A low growl caught his ears before they reached hers. He turned to find a white wolf staring back at him, a menacing snarl on its snout. Link drew his sword a little reluctantly once he realized he would have to kill it if he wanted to live. The wolf charged full speed, quite obviously adapted to the snowy environment, but Link was ready. He held his blade out in front of him, letting the beast run right into it. As it leapt, it impaled itself upon the steel, perishing immediately. Midna stared at him in a mixture of confusion and impatience as he dropped his sword and let out an especially harsh sneeze that made him lurch forward in pain. He grunted and slowly straightened himself, crossing his arms and shivering. His condition only seemed to worsen as they continued, though she expected he would make it out miraculously unharmed as he had before.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Eyes glazed over, he slowly, ever so slowly, crumpled to his hands and knees, feeling a strange urge to vomit. However, that was held back once he realized he wasn't even well enough to do that. He crawled at a shaky, unbearably slow pace until he stopped at a small space that led into a cave. He collapsed just inside the cave and curled in on himself until he was only a fraction of his original size. His breath was uneven and unnaturally sluggish, as if he had not the strength to breathe. For the first time since they began their ascent, Midna felt truly concerned for his wellbeing. The blanket that had helped him back in Lanayru's spring was once more wrapped around his tiny frame, and without a single word she took it upon herself to find them firewood and something to eat. She was sure Link was starving, having gone the entirety of the day before and that day without any sustenance.

Thick clouds of breath rose from his lips as he slowly let the low temperatures steal his consciousness. That and a distinct rumbling sound that came from him. He clutched his stomach and moaned nearly inaudibly, feeling himself weaken by the minute. Before losing himself, he felt the warm arms of unconsciousness embrace him and drag him into the depths of his dreamless sleep. Although his body still trembled, he felt no longer cold. He'd been holding on for an hour, battling the harsh weather, but he had finally let it go.

Midna returned shortly after he had fallen asleep, carrying a log and some sticks as well as the wolf he'd slain earlier. His pale face was all she saw, everything else wrapped thickly in the Hero of Time's blanket. She arranged the wood in a pyramid-like shape and used his lantern to light it. Almost immediately it caught, lighting up the dim space they occupied with an eerie orange glow. Link was also illuminated, the shadow of his somewhat still form dancing along the ground and walls. She skinned the wolf just as she'd watched him do many times before and cooked the meat over the fire, then used her magic to clean and shape the fur into a coat for him. Gently removing the blanket, she repositioned him so she could slip it over his shoulders and hopefully keep him a bit warmer.

Dull eyes met her own scarlet one with an emotionless stare. He did feel warmer than before, but Midna's worry still surfaced when he began sweating. He began to pull at the fur coat in an attempt to get it off, but a small pair of hands kept him from doing so.

"No, Link. You have to keep this on so you don't freeze."

He let out a dry cough and pushed himself slightly farther from the fire. He gladly took the food that was given to him and wolfed it down (no pun intended) as if he were fed for the first time in forever. That is what it felt like to him. In his pitifully miserable state, he wanted nothing more than her company. He gazed at her with a helpless, almost surrendering glint in those deep blue pools as if pleading for attention. She saw it easily and moved closer to him. A hand weaving through his hair was enough to calm his distressed mind and reassure him that everything would be okay. He gave into this reassurance and gently drifted into another world.

Some color had returned to him, she saw, which brought her mind peace as well. The quiet breathing she heard from him told her that he would be fine through the night. Maybe all he had needed was a little love, because he seemed to be mostly fine after that. He still shivered uncontrollably from the cold, but he was considerably better than before. She was glad that she was able to help him, even if it was just a small gesture. Because in truth, she...

As the sun rose in the gray sky, Link also rose. He blinked in confusion before the events of the night before clicked in place. He sat up and looked around as if searching for something, until he found his friend sitting by him, waiting. The look in her eye spoke her thoughts. He smiled before he could stop himself, feeling a new sense of heat in his cheeks despite the frozen wasteland they were currently in. He stood from his spot and walked to the entrance of the cave, staring into the light. He whispered something her ears just barely picked up over the wind.

"It's funny how some distance...makes everything seem so small. Isn't it?"

Midna only answered with another question. She set a hand on his shoulder and looked deep in his eyes as if trying to spot the relief in them. She then backed up slightly, still looking at his pink face.

"Hopefully those fears from before can't hold you back anymore?"

"No, they don't."

A smile graced her lips, "Good."

They both let a single thought pass through their minds before turning and leaving the safety of the cave, eager to finish this.

 _Let the storm rage on... We can ride it out together._


End file.
